Personal financial management and alert tool

Abstract

A personal financial notification device includes a processor coupled to machine readable storage media having instructions stored therein. The instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to receive a non-confidential status of a financial account of a user from a separate mobile device. The financial account is associated with the personal financial notification device. The instructions also cause the processor to display the non-confidential status of the financial account without requiring user authentication.

1 . A system, comprising:
 a mobile device comprising a first processor coupled to a first machine readable storage media having instructions stored therein that, when executed by the first processor, cause the first processor to:
 receive account information associated with a financial account of a user; 
 determine a first status relating to the financial account based on the account information, the first status comprising an absolute value of a balance regarding a category of the financial account and an absolute value of a budget for the category; 
 generate a non-confidential status based on the first status, the non-confidential status comprising a graphical representation of a relative value determined from the absolute value of the balance and the absolute value of the budget; and 
 transmit the non-confidential status to a personal financial notification device, the personal financial notification device being separate from the mobile device and comprising a second processor coupled to second machine readable storage media having instructions stored therein that, when executed by the second processor, cause the second processor to:
 receive, from the mobile device, the non-confidential status; and 
 display, without requiring user authentication, a first part of the non-confidential status, wherein the first part of the non-confidential status comprises the graphical representation of the relative value; and 
 display, based on receiving user authentication information via the personal financial notification device, a graphical representation comprising at least one of the absolute value of the balance or the absolute value of the budget. 
 
   
     
     
         2 - 3 . (canceled) 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the non-confidential status is a near-real-time status of the financial account of the user. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the personal financial notification device includes a Near Field Communication (NFC) device, wherein the personal financial notification device receives the non-confidential status via the NFC device. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the personal financial notification device includes a BLUETOOTH low energy (BLE) device, wherein the personal financial notification device receives the non-confidential status via the BLE device. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the personal financial notification device includes an electronic paper display. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the personal financial notification device is powered by solely by energy received wirelessly from the separate mobile device. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the electronic paper display is configured to display the non-confidential status using the energy received from the separate mobile device, wherein the displayed non-confidential status is maintained on the electronic paper display when the energy received from the separate mobile device is discontinued. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the personal financial notification device is powered by an internal battery. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the personal financial notification device is not capable of accepting text input. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the personal financial notification device is not capable of wirelessly transmitting voice data received from the user. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the personal financial notification device is not capable of establishing a telephone connection. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the personal financial notification device has no built-in camera. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the personal financial notification device does not execute any other applications. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the personal financial notification device has a credit card form factor. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the personal financial notification device is smaller than 90 millimeters×60 millimeters×1 millimeter. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the personal financial notification device weighs less than 50 grams. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the personal financial notification device weighs less than 10 grams. 
     
     
         20 - 32 . (canceled) 
     
     
         33 . A mobile device comprising a first processor coupled to a first machine readable storage media having instructions stored therein that, when executed by the first processor, cause the first processor to:
 receive account information associated with a financial account of a user;   determine a first status relating to the financial account based on the account information, the first status comprising an absolute value of a balance regarding a category of the financial account and an absolute value of a budget for the category;   generate a non-confidential status based on the first status, the non-confidential status comprising a graphical representation of a relative value determined from the absolute value of the balance and the absolute value of the budget; and   transmit the non-confidential status to a separate personal financial notification device, the personal financial notification device configured to display the graphical representation of the relative value without requiring user authentication.   
     
     
         34 . The mobile device of  claim 33 , wherein the mobile device transmits the non-confidential status upon receiving a request from the personal financial notification device. 
     
     
         35 . The mobile device of  claim 33 , wherein the instructions further cause the first processor to detect that the personal financial notification device is within a pre-determined range of the mobile device, wherein the mobile device transmits the non-confidential status upon detecting that the personal financial notification device is within the pre-determined range. 
     
     
         36 . The mobile device of  claim 33 , wherein the mobile device transmits the non-confidential status via a wireless network interface. 
     
     
         37 . The mobile device of  claim 36 , wherein the wireless network interface includes a Near Field Communication (NFC) device. 
     
     
         38 . The mobile device of  claim 37 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to transmit energy to the personal financial notification device via the NFC device. 
     
     
         39 . The mobile device of  claim 38 , wherein the wireless network interface includes a BLUETOOTH low energy (BLE) device. 
     
     
         40 . The mobile device of  claim 33 , wherein the non-confidential status includes a balance of the financial account. 
     
     
         41 . The mobile device of  claim 40 , wherein the balance includes balances of each of a plurality of budget categories of the financial account. 
     
     
         42 . The mobile device of  claim 33 , wherein the non-confidential status includes a goal progress related to the financial account. 
     
     
         43 . The mobile device of  claim 33 , wherein the personal financial mobile device is a smart card. 
     
     
         44 . A system, comprising:
 a mobile device; and   a personal financial notification device wirelessly coupled to the mobile device;   wherein the mobile device comprises a first processor coupled to a first machine readable storage media having instructions stored therein that, when executed by the first processor, cause the first processor to:
 receive account information associated with a financial account of a user; 
 determine a first status relating to the financial account based on the account information, the first status comprising an absolute value of a balance regarding a category of the financial account and an absolute value of a budget for the category; 
 generate a non-confidential status based on the first status, the non-confidential status comprising a graphical representation of a relative value determined from the absolute value of the balance and the absolute value of the budget; and 
 transmit the non-confidential status to the personal financial notification device; and 
   wherein the personal financial notification device comprises a second processor coupled to a second machine readable storage media having instructions stored therein that, when executed by the second processor, cause the second processor to:
 receive from the mobile device, the non-confidential status; and 
 display, without requiring user authentication, the graphical representation of the relative value. 
   
     
     
         45 . The system of  claim 44 , wherein the personal financial notification device is a smart card. 
     
     
         46 . The system of  claim 45 , wherein the smart card is sized and shaped similar to a conventional credit card. 
     
     
         47 . (canceled) 
     
     
         48 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the non-confidential status is displayed on the personal financial notification device without further requiring user input. 
     
     
         49 . (canceled) 
     
     
         50 . The mobile device of  claim 33 , wherein the non-confidential status is displayed on the personal financial notification device without further requiring user input. 
     
     
         51 . (canceled) 
     
     
         52 . The system of  claim 44 , wherein the non-confidential status is displayed on the personal financial notification device without further requiring user input. 
     
     
         53 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first status is accessible to the user on the mobile device after the user is authenticated, and wherein the non-confidential status is accessible to the user on the personal financial notification device without the user being authenticated.